A problem with Internet access in a number of markets is the issue of data-limited network connections. This is often true in emerging markets and developing countries, as well as in established markets in which users elect to subscribe to a data-limited Internet access plan. Limitations on data may occur in different forms. For example, a low-bandwidth network, such as a dial-up connection, may provide a slow connection over which download times are excessively long for large items of content. Even typically faster access networks, such as wifi, may provide a slow connection if the wifi network is shared by multiple users or devices. Alternatively, a data-limited plan may provide a fast connection, but may be limited in the total amount of data that is provided to the user within a given period of time, such as per month. In some situations, there may be a fixed limit to how much data a user can consume, say, per month. In other situations, once the user consumes a given amount of data, the user may incur additional costs, often prohibitive, associated with a data overage. In other situations, a user may not incur additional costs for overages, but the data rate may be drastically slowed by the provider once an allotted amount of high-speed data has been exceeded.
When a user with a slow data connection accesses a web page that displays a large number of images, and/or high-resolution images, the web page may load so slowly that the user loses patience and navigates to other pages. This may result in not only frustration for the user, but also a potential loss of revenue or page popularity for the entity associated with the web page. On the other hand, when a user with a capped data plan accesses a web page that displays a large number of images, and/or high-resolution images, the web page may rapidly deplete the user's data allotment.